Us
by SRona58
Summary: One shot alternative scene in Iron Man 1 - set during the benefit, on the balcony with Tony and Pepper. Sorta a take on the kiss we only ever got BTS photos of.


Sort of a take on the balcony scene in IM1...slightly AU focusing on the kiss we only ever got to see in the BTS photos.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything Marvel or Iron Man related.

* * *

Pepper didn't intend on kissing him. It wasn't even in the far back corners of her mind when the night started. Nope, it couldn't happen. They couldn't... _she_ couldn't... Her reputation would be ruined, and she'd lose any kind of pull at the company, regardless of if Tony was CEO.

And yet, here he was, approaching her as if it were the norm.

"You look fantastic!" he called, interrupting the talk she was having with a couple of the girls in finance. "I didn't recognize you."

She turned with a sigh, trying to excuse herself politely even though they were only ogling Tony at that point, anyway.

"What are you doing here?"

"Just...avoiding government agents," he answered, momentarily thinking of Coulson, who he was definitely not going to schedule in anytime soon.

And there was her familiar narrow of the eyes. "Are you by yourself?"

"Yes," he responded, then realized the delicate number she was wearing was something he hadn't seen before...something he wanted for only his eyes. "Where'd you get that dress?"

"Oh, it was a birthday present..."

"That's great."

"From you, actually," Pepper smirked, reminding him of their talk before he went missing.

"Well, I got great taste," he bantered, amking her smile shyly.

"Yes..."

"You want to dance?"

The question was spontaneous and took her off guard, and as much as she wanted to it probably wasn't the best idea. "Oh, no.

But he grabbed her hand anyway. "All right, come on."

"No, thank you, I... " she stammered, but he didn't listen.

Instead, Tony pulled her into the dance floor, taking her hand in one and placing his other on her hip, making her blush. She could feel fire where they touched, and it bugged her. Before he was kidnapped...none of this would've affected her. But now, something stirred inside of her as she looked at what she almost lost. After so many years, maybe Tony was something more to her than just...well, the playboy the rest of the world saw. And to top it all off, he hadn't paid any other girls attention since he came home. Coincidence?

"Am I making you uncomfortable?" he finally asked, breaking into her dramatic thoughts and embarrassing her.

"No, no..." she muttered as his lips tugged up in a smirk. "I always forget to wear deodorant and dance with my boss in front of everyone that I work within a dress with no back..."

"You look great and you smell great," Tony assured her, that sparkle in his eye that she knew all too well appearing...just never with her, only the other women.

"Oh, God..."

His eyebrows raised as he thought and carried their swag to the music. "But I could fire you if that would take the edge off."

Pepper nearly snorted in response at that ridiculous idea. "I actually don't think you could tie your shoes without me..."

"I'd make it a week," he mused.

There was no way that'd happen. "Sure."

"Really?" he asks, apparently surprised, so she met his eyes and thought

"What's your Social Security number?" Potts asked eventually, knowing he wouldn't remember it.

Tony's brow scrunched up for a second as he tried to wrack his brain, then gave a guilty grin when he realized he'd never guess it. He took a stab anyway.

"Five," he beamed.

She shook her head. "Five?"

"Right."

"Right... You're missing just a couple of digits there."

Tony couldn't help but watch the way her nose scrunched up... Her smile showed her perfect teeth, the same teeth he'd seen so many times before as she laughed at his insane ideas, but it was never like this...

"The other eight?" he guessed. "I got you for the other eight."

She didn't answer...she just kept smiling, looking down to hide her flushed cheeks. And Tony was...comfortable. He was happy. Yet somehow still pissed at himself for never seeing her in this light before. Maybe it was the caves, he didn't know. But something had changed, and suddenly Tony Stark...didn't want to be Tony Stark anymore.

"How about a little air?" he suggested, knowing full well what that entailed.

She sighed, relieved. "Yes, I need some air."

And like before, he lead her off the floor, through the prying eyes, and toward the glass doors that lead outside.

For the most part, the balcony was empty, aside from a few straying couples that were returning tot he party from somewhere above them. He watched as a woman gave him a small wave, giving his signature Stark smirk in return as he leaned up against the edge of the balcony. Then, Pepper sighed, and he snapped his attention back to her.

"That was totally weird..." she complained, seemingly more to herself than him.

"Totally harmless," he corrected.

But Potts wasn't having it. "It was totally not harmless, by the way. We're dancing..."

"No one's even watching!" Tony argued, but she went on.

"Everybody who I work with...No, you know why?"

He chuckled, amused when she went off on something else. He liked her flustered..he could actually handle her instead of just having things yelled at him.

"I think you lost objectivity. I think they just..." he stammered, not sure what to say to keep her from getting angry. "People... We just danced."

No, it was not just a dance!" Pepper groaned. "You don't understand because you're you. And everybody knows exactly who you are and how you are with girls and all of that, which is completely fine," she ranted, stepping forward to make her case. "But, you know, then me, you're my boss...and I'm dancing with you..."

He shrugged slightly, disagreeing. "I don't think it was taken that way."

"Because it makes me look like the one who's trying to-"

"I just think you're overstating it," Tony insisted, slowly growing irritated...maybe this was why he'd never pursued her.

"You know, and we're here, and then I'm wearing this ridiculous dress, and then we were dancing like that and..."

And somehow, she took another step forward, eyes on him. His eyes narrowed, watching Pepper as she grabbed his arm with her hand and leaned up, eyes closing and lips parted slightly. He waited, hesitating, caught between if he should lean down and kiss her or just wait and see what happens.

But Potts was bolder than he expected, and before he could react, her lips lightly grazed his, taking him by surprise. They were soft, unsure, but warm, and he barely had time to react before she was withdrawing, covering her face in embarrassment and turning away.

"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I don't know what came over me...I have no idea what just happened..."

"You just kissed me," Tony stated, but it was less of an answer and more of an assurance for himself, trying to believe that just happened.

She flushed, standing straight, but refusing to turn back to him and face him. In truth, she wanted to do more, wanted to kiss him again...but she couldn't.

"You're my _boss_ ," she groaned instead, trying hard not to think about the butterflies in her stomach or the surprising taste of cigar and scotch on his lips that mingled well with just _him_.

"Pepper," Tony called, trying to catch her attention as she took a few breaths.

"No, Tony, I'm gonna...I should go, I should-"

"Pep," he tried again, with the same result.

"I'm so sorry...if you want to fire me, I understand. I'm so embarrassed, I-"

Then she heard a frustrated growl in her ear before a hand on her shoulder spun her around and she was the one being taken off guard. Tony gave her no time to respond before his lips were on hers, soft but hard. His arms settled on her waist and she instinctively brought her hands up his chest, letting them rest there as she felt him tilt his head and part, only to reapply the pressure. She couldn't think about anything besides him...anything besides his thin lips crushing against hers, the tickle of his facial hair against her porcelain skin, the smell of his hair gel strong in her nose...

And then, as if she needed more to fry her brain, his tongue slipped across her lower lip, begging for her approval. And she gave it to him.

Pepper melted into his touch as she let him kiss her, let him explore her mouth... He was surprisingly gentle with his kiss, but it was so full of need and want that she felt her stomach do flips. This was how it was to kiss Tony Stark. Or was it? Would she be another one of the one night stands? Surely he wouldn't have kissed her again...so maybe that meant he cared for her the same way?

When he finally let her breathe, he rested his forehead against hers, watching her hands play with his tux jacket. She didn't have the nerve to look up at him yet, and he didn't know if she was upset or happy or...really, anything.

"That...was supposed to happen a long time go," Pepper heard him whisper suddenly, and she was unsure that she even heard him right.

"What?" she gasped, and her blue eyes finally looked up to his chocolate ones.

He looked at her softly...with care. Not with...sexual drive, though she was sure it was there.

"I was supposed to kiss you. Not the other way around."

She sighed, pushing away from him. "Are you serious right now?!"

But he caught her before she could go far, chuckling and pulling her back against him. "I might be... _me_ , as you put it," he teased. "But _me_ has changed, Pep. And I didn't think you wanted the new me...or the old me, honestly. Any me."

"You're still you," she breathed, relaxing and shooting him her own grin.

"Me hasn't always been so great," Stark argued. "So you can go, if you want. We can forget this ever happened. Or-"

"No, I don't want that."

Tony swallowed visibly, apparently nervous, and nodded, his eyes still on her. "Or..." he continued, "or we can have valet bring up the car and we can go home and-"

"I'm not sleeping with you, Mr Stark," Potts protested with a cocked eyebrow. "This is just a kiss, just..."

"A beginning," he offered. "If you're interested."

"Of what?"

"You, me...Iron Man's girlfriend..." He smirked, toying with her hands in his against his chest. "Us."


End file.
